AN: I would like to thank my beta S for helping me keep things English and for helping me with the Americanisms. Any other mistakes are my own.

Chapter One

Throughout his career as a CSI, Horatio had discovered that he had come to hate the sound of a ringing telephone. This dislike had started years earlier when a phone call meant that he would have to see the worst of human nature. The faces of murder victims came back to him whenever he heard the telephone, and he found that it was difficult to pick up the phone. However, there was another reason for why he hated answering the phone, and it had something to do with speaking to the family of the missing or murdered.

The mother of Audrey Williams made it a habit to call Horatio nearly every month since her daughter had disappeared without a trace two years previous. It was difficult answering her questions, and even more difficult to tell her that there were absolutely no more leads in her daughter's case. Ever since he had worked on Audrey's case, his fear of the telephone had escalated so that now he felt a distinct terror whenever the phone rang.

He had been watching the news when Rachel Williams had called, listening to the reporter give the particulars of Jeanne Knowles disappearance, scowling when the journalist referred to the unsolved disappearance of Audrey Williams.

"Lieutenant Caine, I heard that there was another girl... this Jeanne Knowles... that she disappeared from the same university that my daughter attended before... before she..." Mrs. Williams's voice faltered slightly and Horatio knew that she was biting back tears. "Please, I beg of you, tell me if you think this latest girl is related to my daughter's case."

Horatio's mind went immediately to the letters that Jeanne Knowles roommate had brought in and had given to Frank. The familiar letters and the signature upon them made Horatio believe that the two cases were linked, but was it wise to tell the mother of the first victim this information? If he ever was lucky enough to be blessed with children, and one of them were a daughter that went missing in such horrifying circumstances, would he want the truth or a detective's lie?

"Mrs. Williams, I can't discuss the investigation with you." He hesitated for a moment, trying to decide whether he should say anything else. However, Horatio found that he could not say anything at all that could make the suffering of this mother go away.

The silence between them went on for a few minutes until Horatio felt as though he could reach out and touch it. He could hear Rachel Williams on the other end of the line fight back tears, and he felt his heart break for her.

"If this latest girl... if her disappearance is linked to my Audrey, does this mean that my daughter's case will be worked on again?"

"I never stopped working on your daughter's case, Mrs. Williams..."

"I know you never stopped investigating," Mrs. Williams said quietly. "I am talking about the police, the detectives, and your team." Horatio noticed that her voice began to sound angry. "They all gave up on my daughter's case when there wasn't much evidence. She's out there somewhere, Lieutenant, and nobody is willing to find her and bring her back home."

"Mrs. Williams..."

"I know that Audrey's case is related to this girl's disappearance, Horatio." Rachel Williams was choking back sobs, making it difficult to hear her. "I only request that you don't give up and forget about my daughter. She needs to come home. She's been gone for so long... She doesn't..."

Horatio didn't know what to say and was saved from the moment when Calleigh Duquesne poked her head in the room and called out his name.

"Mrs. Williams, I apologise but I have to let you go. If there is any progress in your daughter's case, I will call you personally."

"I am sure you will," she said coldly, hanging up the phone before Horatio had a chance to say anything more.

Calleigh stepped further into Horatio's office, a frown on her face. "I take it that Mrs. Williams got wind of the Jeanne Knowles case?"

Horatio nodded grimly. His attention returned to the small television that was still upon the news channel and was repeating the details of the disappearance of the university student.

Calleigh took a deep breath, held onto it for a second, and then released it. "I heard that the roommate brought in letters. Are we certain that they are from the same person?"

Horatio nodded again, standing to his feet, and grabbing for his grey crime scene kit. He had bagged and tagged the letters, sending them right away to documents. The results hadn't come back yet, but then again, he hadn't expected them to come so quickly. The examiner had been looking at other evidence that had more precedence than a new case. However, Jack had promised that he would get to the letters as soon as he was finished his task and had placed the bags in the 'priority tray' as Horatio left the room.

Calleigh was silent for a moment, thinking things over for a moment. Then she lowered herself into one of the comfortable armchairs in front of Horatio's desk. He noticed the look she gave him, recognised it for what it meant, and quickly glanced away.

"I know how the Audrey Williams case has affected you," she said so softly that Horatio could hardly hear her. "It is difficult to give up on a case like this, but when it takes control over everything else in your life then you are unable to do your job."

Horatio looked at Calleigh in surprise but didn't say anything right away. Instead he took his seat behind his desk, and then lowered his gaze. "I thought I had the man who did this to Audrey Williams, thought that there was enough evidence to bring about his arrest and conviction, but he got away because it wasn't enough. The evidence showed this individual for who and what he really was, but I underestimated him. As a result, I allowed a dangerous rapist and killer to go back into the community."

"No, that's not true and you know it," Calleigh said fiercely, her green eyes flashing in anger. "You didn't allow this man to escape justice. The Judge in the case didn't feel that the evidence was sufficient enough to pursue the case, and as a result forced Philippa to drop it. It had nothing to do with you..."

"Didn't it? If I hadn't been so focused on bringing this guy to justice, I wouldn't have made half the mistakes I did with the investigation. I was guilty of tunnel vision."

Calleigh shook her head and sighed. "We are all guilty of that, Horatio. Sometimes these cases affect us in the worst way, and we want to bring the people responsible to justice. We can become obsessive about a specific case because we make it so personal. However, we must overcome that because we lose sight of everything." She stopped for a moment, took a breath, and leaned forward in her chair. "Do you remember the Rebecca Larson and Charlotte Gordon cases?"

Horatio looked up in surprise. He remembered both cases as though they had happened yesterday. They were amongst the many cases that haunted him, and he could tell by looking in Calleigh's eyes that the murders of these two young girls affected her the same way. He knew that Calleigh had struggled to cope in the aftermath of the case, knew that she thought about it constantly, and had a suspicion that she was an often visitor to the grave of Charlotte Gordon. What had happened during that investigation was not her fault, and he was just about to say so when Calleigh began to speak again.

"There are times when I blame myself entirely for what happened during the investigation of the Rebecca Larson case. Perhaps if I had acted more quickly and saw the evidence for what it really was, then maybe Charlotte Gordon would still be alive," Calleigh said with a slight tremble in her voice. "It took a long time for me to realise that I wasn't the one at fault that the man who did this acted of his own accord."

Horatio was about to say something when Calleigh held her hand up. "What I am trying to say here is that if you continue to take the Williams case as personally as you have been for the last few years, you will lose all focus on everything else and will allow a killer to get away with murder." She gave him a hard look that spoke more volume than words. "Today we have a young woman who is missing. We don't know what happened to her or if her disappearance is related to any other case that is currently open or closed. If you lose perspective in this case, then you will overlook all the evidence and be guilty of tunnel vision of the worst kind."

Horatio blinked at her, finding his voice at last. "I know that these two cases are related to each other. I understand that there is a possibility that the Jeanne Knowles case will lead us down another path, and that the evidence wouldn't support my suspicions at all. However, there are so many similarities between them. What will happen if the evidence falls apart before the investigation is even complete?

"Then we will work twice as hard to bring two monsters to justice for what they did," she said simply. She regarded Horatio with her keen green eyes before standing to her feet. "Regardless of where the evidence takes us, there will be justice for the victim. Even if it leads us in a different direction than we expected."

Horatio sighed softly, looking up at Calleigh as she stepped towards the window to peer down into the street out front. He couldn't understand his sudden weakness but found that he had to talk about it in order to make sense of it. There was a moment of silence that passed between them, only broken by the sound of a crow cawing from somewhere outside.

"When I saw those letters that Jeanne Knowles roommate dropped off, it was almost as if I had gone back in time to Audrey Williams house," he admitted sheepishly. He heard Calleigh breathe in deeply, turning from the window to look at him as she did so. "Then I remembered how cocky the suspect was when we were interrogating him. The smirk on his face when the victim's name was mentioned or when Frank read a few paragraphs of the letters always comes to my mind whenever I think about the case."

"I think that it is wise to forget the Audrey Williams case for right now," Calleigh said firmly. "We need to approach this investigation with fresh eyes. It wouldn't be fair to Jeanne Knowles if we made assumptions before we even began to look at her case. Until we find more evidence that the two women are connected, we will treat the two as separate investigations."

Horatio nodded grimly. He knew that it was best to approach this investigation as though there was no connection to another case, but it was made difficult when the face of Audrey Williams came to his mind. Yet, to do his job as a forensic investigator, it was best to conduct this investigation as objective as possible. It didn't do anyone a service if he were replaced before he could even do his job. He pushed his chair back and stood up, grabbed for his crime scene kit once more and glanced over at Calleigh.

"We are going to the house where the victim lived," she said, glancing briefly at the piece of folded paper that contained the address of the victim. "Eric and Ryan are on their way to the university as we speak. Since our victim was last seen there, he thought it best to start there."

Horatio knew that it was possible that Eric was told by Langley to go to the university for the integrity of the current investigation, but he didn't voice his suspicion to Calleigh who stood watching him closely.

"Philippa didn't think it was a good idea for you to go to the university right now," Calleigh said, correctly guessing what was on Horatio's mind. She reached the door before he did and threw it open, allowing him to pass before following him out into the hallway. "I suspect that she didn't want a repeat of what happened last time when you saw the good professor."

For several moments, Horatio didn't say anything. He felt his face redden and ducked his head, covering his embarrassment and his silence by locking his office door.

"Listen Horatio," said Calleigh grimly. "You need to keep a cool head with this investigation. Especially with Philippa Langley watching your every move."

Horatio suddenly felt exhausted, but he glanced over at Calleigh. "This guy gets under my skin, Calleigh. I really want to get him for what he did."

Calleigh smiled as she pulled out the keys to her hummer. "Then we do this the right way. We gather and follow the evidence." She stopped as she unlocked the doors of the vehicle with a press of a button, motioning to Horatio to join her. "Frank is waiting for us at the house. He said that there are four girls living there, but our witness that brought the letters had to leave for an important class."

Horatio waited patiently for her to pick up her CSI kit from the passenger seat and set it in the backseat. He caught sight of the look on Calleigh's face and immediately buckled his seatbelt before closing the door.

"Frank said he wants you to attend the interrogation of our law student roommate tonight at the station. Seven in the evening," said Calleigh with a sniff, ignoring the look of horror on Horatio's face as she raced out of the parking lot, accidentally cutting off a bright red sports car.

"I will tell him I'll be there," Horatio said as Calleigh honked her horn at a blue ford pickup truck that wasn't moving at a traffic light. "Granted that we arrive at our destination in one piece."

The bungalow that Jeanne Knowles had made her home was the typical student rental house. Horatio sensed that while the owner took great care of the house and its property, that they probably lived as far away from it as possible. The outside of the house was painted a cheerful yellow with white trim that looked out into a beautiful front yard that led to the street. From the driveway, Horatio could see a brick walkway that wound its way around the carport to the bungalow's porch.

"This is a beautiful house," said Calleigh cheerfully as she took in the bungalow with an appraising look in her eyes. "Many off-campus rentals for students are complete dumps, but this one is in excellent condition and is in a great neighbourhood."

Horatio looked up the street and saw how close together the other houses were. He noticed that the house directly across from them had a curtain move quickly into place and removed his sunglasses.

"It would be really easy to notice anything strange and out of place here."

"Especially with nosy neighbours like that," Calleigh said sarcastically with a pointed look in the direction of the house across from them. "Bet they'd be eager to talk to us?"

Horatio didn't answer her as he walked up the driveway and came to a stop in front of the carport. It was big enough for one car, but from the looks of things the girls used it as a storage space more than a space to park vehicles. He could see boxes and bins stacked up against one side of the carport with bicycles leaning up against the far side. There was a lawn tractor parked inside and a tool chest that was on the other side of the boxes. He glanced up the street again and saw a bus stop about four houses down.

"Do we know if our missing victim has a vehicle?" he asked Calleigh in an undertone as he looked down at the driveway, noting the patch of dead grass near the top of the driveway.

Calleigh looked over at him and shrugged. "Not sure, but if she does have a car, Frank would have that information."

He narrowed his eyes and surveyed the front garden. In the centre of the property grew a Blue Hesper palm tree, its base surrounded by white rocks the size of his fist and a few garden gnomes that seemed to protect it. His eyes went to where the property ended and the sidewalk began but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. There was no trampled grass signifying that somebody had stood on the grass for a long period in front of the house, there were no tire tracks on the grass near the road. He felt the familiar pang of frustration take hold and looked towards the house to see that Frank was waiting for them, his arms folded across his chest, wearing a look of impatience on his face.

Horatio and Calleigh glanced at one another for a moment before walking up the walkway to meet him, their kits in hand.

"What took you two so long?" Frank grumbled as he gave the two of them a look of disapproval. He held up a clear evidence bag with a piece of paper folded with it. "Another letter was found in the mailbox not too long after I arrived. Officer Garcia discovered it after he noticed somebody hanging around the porch. The letter is addressed to us…"

"What?" Calleigh and Horatio asked at the same time.

"Yeah, it's just as I thought too," said Frank waspishly, holding the letter between his forefinger and thumb as though it was about to attack him. "It's just like the last time. Letters appearing all the time, describing horrific abuse with these terrible clues that had to be solved."

Horatio took the evidence bag from the detective and scanned the paper with a critical eye. He made a small noise of disgust and passed the evidence to Calleigh who gave it a cursory glance before putting it carefully into her kit.

"This letter was sent to us at the victim's house," Calleigh said softly as she peered about the property and nearby street. Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of an elderly woman staring at them from across the street. "If these two cases are related to each other, then our good professor is getting a little cocky, isn't he?"

"He always was a cocky son of a bitch," Frank said gruffly. "You should have heard the way he was talking to us in interrogation during the Williams case. It was almost as though he was challenging us to try to stop him." He turned to Horatio with a rueful expression on his face. "I didn't see the bastard. I was speaking to one of the roommates when Garcia noticed that something was off and went to investigate. Said that there was a figure hanging out by the window… gave him the creeps."

"We will send the letter to Documents as soon as we get back to the lab." Horatio shielded his eyes against the sun and looked around the porch. "I doubt that whoever was responsible for this drop off would stick around."

"I called Delko at the university. It seems that the kind professor disappeared not long after Jeanne Knowles took off from the library." Frank peered over his shoulder as the door behind him opened, revealing a pretty redhead that regarded them all with terrified eyes. He moved closer to Horatio and lowered his voice. "I have a few uniforms waiting for the professor at his home and office, and there are many more that are scouring the streets for him."

Before Horatio could say anything, the young woman behind Frank stepped outside onto the stoop. She glanced at Frank for a moment before turning her attention to Horatio and Calleigh. She wore a white blouse with a frilly necktie, a black pencil skirt that stopped above her knee, and stylish black pumps that put her at the height of his chin.

"Can you tell me what is going on?" She asked with her gaze on Calleigh. "What happened to Jeanne?"

"Let's go back into the house Miss Perez," said Frank kindly. He held open the door and gestured for her to come inside. Horatio saw her give the detective an uncertain look before she did what she was told.

Horatio followed Miss Perez inside the house, noticing that she looked behind her apprehensively as Calleigh shut the door. He noticed that they had entered a living room that was surprisingly well furnished with a white settee and two matching chairs that faced a black television set. A coffee table stood close to the sofa with an assortment of magazines arranged neatly across the top, and a few binders and books piled unceremoniously in the middle.

The young woman led them to the settee and sat down, her long fingers playing nervously with her hair. She glanced around at them all for a moment before leaping to her feet. Calleigh pulled one of the armchairs closer to the sofa as Frank went into the kitchen for another chair.

"I should go and help Cecilia" she said quickly, looking towards the kitchen in such a way that told Horatio that she didn't want to be with them alone. "She is getting coffee and…"

A heavyset woman in her twenties appeared around the corner with a tray of muffins and mugs, setting the tray down she disappeared back into the kitchen with another tray that had a teapot and a tall mug filled with what smelled like hot chocolate. She set this tray down and picked up the mug of hot chocolate, handing it to her friend before plopping herself down beside her.

"It's going to be okay, Adela. They are here to help us find Jeanne." She gazed up at Horatio expectantly, her eyes taking in his appearance before she turned her attention to Calleigh. "You will find out what happened, right? You'll find her?"

"We'll definitely try our best to find her," Frank said as he came out of the kitchen with a chair and set it on the other side of the coffee table where he took a seat. He motioned to Horatio and Calleigh and introduced them to the two young women.

"Crime scene investigators?" The heavyset girl asked, her brown eyes gleaming with interest. "Are you here to see if that man hurting Jeanne was inside our house?"

Horatio leaned forward suddenly interested. "What do you mean by that?"

"Cecilia, we don't know if this is even related to that… that…" Adela trailed off, her face troubled. "I mean, he knows where we live, right? He's been sending her those letters. Are we in danger?"

"We will make sure that you aren't in danger," Frank said soothingly. "Now, what do you know about this man hurting Jeanne?"

Adela and Cecilia exchanged dark looks before Cecilia took a deep breath and told them everything she knew.

"I don't know the specifics. She's closer to Elizabeth than to any of us, even though Adela is in the same programme that she's in." Cecilia hesitated as she watched Frank writing his notes. "Last semester we noticed that she was acting strange. She was always looked terrified and she was so nervous. She broke down when the first letter appeared on our doorstep…"

"It was right at the time when she found out that she could go to France for the summer," interrupted Adela throwing a look of apology at her friend. "She received that letter the day after she was told by her parents that they could help send her there."

"She told us what happened, but I think she told Elizabeth more details."

"The letters never stopped coming. Jeanne was terrified every time she saw them. She tried to get the school involved but I don't know if the school did anything. She never told us a name, but she did say that he was a member of the faculty."

"Adela, the letters stopped when she went to France, don't you remember?" Cecilia asked, throwing her roommate a look. "They only started back up once she returned here."

Adela nodded fervently. "We had a few scares over the summer, though. There was that time when there was a man peering into our windows…"

Frank held up his hand. "Ladies, please… talk one at a time and don't talk so quickly. Can you tell me about this man peering in your windows? Did it happen at night or during the daytime?"

"Mostly at night," the two girls said together.

"It scared me." Adela shivered. "It's part of the reason for why I am moving out in April."

"Have you seen him around lately?" Calleigh asked, and Horatio saw that she was studying both young women intently.

Adela nodded, her eyes terrified once more. She took a deep breath and lowered her eyes. "A few times I've seen him hanging out about our windows. It's the reason for why we keep the windows locked and we always have the curtains closed after it gets dark. Sometimes, though, I get the feeling that somebody is in the house. I lock my door and never leave my bedroom at night."

Cecilia shook her head. "Adela, nobody but us are inside the house at night. Elizabeth and Jeanne would say something if they noticed somebody was inside the house. Elizabeth never sleeps and Jeanne is always up and about during the night."

Adela's eyes were wide with fear when she looked at Horatio. "One time when everyone was out and I was in the house by myself, I heard somebody inside the house. It's why I never feel safe here."

Cecilia sighed. "Maybe it was the landlord checking something out?" she said half-heartedly, but Horatio could hear the doubt in her voice. "The police said that they are looking into things, but they haven't found any signs that somebody has been inside the house.

"But he was inside the house. I know he was." Adela argued, her voice shaking. "I am not crazy. I know what I heard."

Before Cecilia had a chance to respond, Frank cut in. "Do you know if Jeanne saved any of these earlier letters?"

Calleigh got to her feet, her kit in hand and excused herself. Horatio watched her leave the living room with a thoughtful frown on his face, but he turned his attention back to the interrogation, listening closely as the two roommates of Jeanne Knowles continued to tell their story.

Horatio found Calleigh in a bedroom that had been painted a beautiful shade of light blue. There was a bookshelf in one corner of the room that was crowded with books that were organised with authors in alphabetical order. A nightstand stood on the other side of the twin bed, and had a small lamp that looked as though it were about to fall off it. The bed was neatly made with what appeared to be a handmade quilt that added a splash of colour to the room. The walls were adorned with posters that depicted portraits or sketches of historical figures or events that took place in the past.

Calleigh was on the other side of the room, crouching over pieces of clothing that had been strewn across the floor. Horatio watched as she picked up a black dress with gloved hands, turning it over so she could see it better. He frowned when he noticed the tears and holes.

"Better bag and tag that," he said when he approached her. "It might be evidence of some sort of assault."

"A dress just doesn't get ripped on its own," she said testily. She took the large paper bag that Horatio held out for her and carefully placed the dress inside. She looked up and nodded towards the white vanity on the other side of the room. "This is our missing girl's room."

Horatio looked around the room in an attempt to get to know Jeanne Knowles. The vanity's mirror had pictures taped to it, and he moved closer to view them. He saw a young woman with a heart shaped face, hazel eyes that seemed to peer out of the photographs with the same thoughtful expression, and light brown hair that appeared thick and bushy. One photograph in particular stood out to him, and he leaned in closer to get a better look. Jeanne Knowles stood with a young man that had his arm linked with hers; both were smiling and appeared content. They were standing in front of the gates leading to a magnificent castle that rose high above them.

Horatio turned to Calleigh. "Jeanne's roommates didn't mention a boyfriend."

"Perhaps there wasn't one," said Calleigh distractedly. She was busy writing down the contents of a clear plastic bag on a label that was used to seal evidence. Horatio could see a pair of tan coloured pantyhose within the bag and knew at once that the DNA analyst wouldn't be happy to see the nylon. She looked up for a brief moment, her eyes meeting his. "If there was a man, I think that only those closest to her would know about it. Our girl doesn't seem the type to talk about her personal life that much."

Horatio moved away from the vanity and looked around the room instead. "She really liked her history. She seems to have collected all these posters..."

"She is passionate about history," a voice from behind Horatio said. He spun around and found himself face to face with Adela. She took in a deep breath as she took in the bedroom before shifting her attention back to Horatio. He noticed that her eyes were puffy and red from crying and knew that she blamed herself for what happened to her friend. "She was very interested in French mediaeval history but was very keen on all areas of the subject. She could tell you anything from the Frankish invasions to the pioneers of America."

Horatio was about to say something when Adela pointed towards a poster that was hung over Jeanne's desk. "That is a battle scene between the crusaders and the Cathars of France. She was always fascinated by European war history, and I suppose that the Albigensian crusade held some sort of appeal to her. Jeanne found out more about that crusade during her trip to France last summer."

Horatio looked towards the vanity that had the pictures tacked up, and carefully removed the one photograph from the mirror. "Did she go to France for a study programme? Did she tell you who this man was?"

Adela looked at the picture sadly. Tears filled her eyes again and Horatio waited while she composed herself before showing her the picture again. "She talked about nothing else for months. That is the Château de Foix and the man she is standing with is a French historian that specialises in the history of that period. I think she said that his name was Jean-Léopold." She took a deep breath and released it. "This was going to be her final semester here in the States. She was going to get the rest of her degree in France. She was working on a research paper for a couple of days, something for one of her classes."

"What was she working on?"

Adela blinked but quickly recovered. "She was researching the Albigensian Crusade. She must be at a library or something. Her books about the Crusade and her laptop are missing. She has to be at the library…"

Horatio was about to say something when Frank Tripp appeared behind Adela. She squeaked out an apology and darted out of the bedroom. Horatio caught sight of Frank's grim expression and knew that something had happened.

"We found Jeanne Knowles' vehicle deserted in the parking lot of the university. Delko and Wolfe are looking at it right now." Frank rubbed at his head with one of his hands, looking troubled. "We found Phillip Bradley. He was picked up outside his house with a freshly washed truck and a very beautiful butterfly pendant in his possession."

Horatio's interest was piqued at once. "Did they impound the vehicle…?

"Yes, and before you ask me, they also took him in for questioning. He is currently being brought into interrogation."

"Allow him to wait some more," said Horatio with a derisive snort. "The more he sits, the more outrageous his story becomes."